Weekly Newsletters

Newsletter 15/2018

1 June, 2018

RIP: Isaac de Almeida

It is now a week since the tragic passing of Isaac. I
would like to take this opportunity to thank the many in this community who
have sent messages of support, either directly to me by email or through
postings on our various social media. Death is always a shock to all,
especially of a youngster of 18. All in our community are keenly aware of this
tragedy. Thank-you for your support. And please forgive me for not replying
more personally to the messages – there are just too many.

Isaac’s mother and aunt arrived in JHB on Tuesday and
I have spent much of my time assisting the family with arrangements for the
repatriation of the remains to Angola. I have had invaluable assistance from
the vice-consul of the Johannesburg consulate of Angola, who also made an
interpreter available to me, as neither family member speaks English. We could
not have managed what had to be done without the services of this interpreter.
Thank-you to them. While in Johannesburg I also had a call from the Federation
of Angolan women offering assistance.

Yesterday we came on here to Swaziland so the family
could visit Isaac’s school. Again we were very ably assisted by the Swazi
authorities as we arrived at the border without the necessary visas. After a
few phone calls arrangements were made for the visas to be issued in town,
allowing the family to come on to the school. It is tremendous to be in a
country whose authorities are able to make special arrangements to assist us.
Once again, much appreciated.

We have planned a memorial service while the family
members are still here. It will be held tomorrow (02 June) at 16:30 in the
Assembly Hall here at the school.

Fundraising and support: Isaac was a UWC Angolan
National Committee (NC) scholarship student here at Waterford and his family
come from very modest means. An appeal to assist with funds to help with the
repatriation of the remains from South Africa and other funeral expenses has
been made through GoFundMe an online crowd funding appeal. A number of people
wishing to donate do not have the means to use this mechanism and have asked if
there is any other way they can make a donation. Please note that any donations
can be made direct to the school in cash or by electronic transfer (please use
the reference Isaac Almeida). All funds will be donated to the family for
funeral expenses, any excess as a general help to them at this time of need.
Please be reassured that as is our custom the College will cover any shortfall
if there is one. Please note that the school is liaising with the family and
the Angolan NC regarding all arrangements.

2018 Phoenix Fund: We are Nearing Our
Target!

One of the
most humbling and encouraging moments at Waterford is when the college’s
parents, staff and students come together to realize certain projects. It has
really felt great to see the community making such generous and kind donations
to this year’s Phoenix Fund. Your contributions are helping us reach our
target of E 100,000. The amount raised so far is E88, 307!! We
are nearing the end and we shall soon realize all projects selected: 4 new
drinking fountains, replacing plastic cafeteria cups, buying new cutlery and
placing heaters in the classrooms. Once again, thank you; this is heartwarming.
Through this Fund, Governing Council members, staff and students and current
parents come together in a joint effort to further improve life on the campus,
by realizing smaller, on campus projects, which are not covered by the school’s
annual budget.

I kindly
ask parents to continue supporting the campaign. A gift of E500 from
each and every parent will go a long way towards realizing our goal. Of course,
we welcome any donation you can make, depending on what your situation allows.
Parents can donate either in cash through giving to their children or by using
any of the methods mentioned on our website.

Africa Week
Workshops - Lower School

For those
of you who do not know, Africa Week is in three weeks! The Workshops
Committee has been working hard to put together workshops for the entire
student body, and we have finished compiling workshops for lower school. We are
urging all Form 1, 2, and 3 students to go to this link, fill in the required information, read the descriptions of the
workshops we have to offer, and submit the response.

There is
a special prize for the tutor groups who have all their tutees signed up
for workshops by next week Wednesday
6th June (this is the deadline for all lower school students to sign up).Students
who do not sign up will be placed in any of the workshops. Please take time to
read through the Google document and submit your responses, the Workshops Committee
will ensure that wherever you do end up you will engage in intellectually
stimulating conversations and leave each workshop feeling satisfied.

Form 3 Love Matters

The Form 3 Love Matters session started on
Tuesday afternoon and ended earlier today. It was a very successful informative week for
the students. Please read more.

May Alumni Newsletter

Waterford
is one big family, with over 6000 alumni spread all over the world. These
alumni have all experienced the beauty of our campus. In this month’s edition
of the Alumni Newsletter we have invited our alumni to share their memories of
Waterford campus. I would like to thank the alumni who have started to share
their memories of the campus. Read more from the newsletter.

Kamhlaba Day – Please
Save the Date

This term we will be hosting the first ever
Kamhlaba Day. This event will be a showcase celebration of art, music and food.
There will be plenty to do and experience as the Waterford community comes
together to raise money for our community service programme. Kamhlaba Day will be held on the 14th
July from 12 until 5pm. It promises to be an exciting day full of fun for the
whole family.

Form 5 Mock Art Exam

The form 5 mock art exam will be held next
Tuesday the 5th of June 2018, starting at 8 am.

University Visits

Next week
Tuesday and Wednesday we will be visited by Luther and Colorado colleges
respectively. The presentations will take place at Emhlabeni hostel; starting
at 7pm. Parents are invited to participate.

Entrance Testing for Admission in 2019

Our final
round of entrance testing is on Saturday June 9th at 9am at the
VIP Hotel in Maputo.For any
information on entrance testing and/or admissions, please contact the Director
of Admissions at careers@waterford.sz

Sporting Activities

Debate:
There will be a regional debating competition at Waterford tomorrow starting at
8am.

Hockey: Our
under 20 boys and girls will participate in a hockey festival to take place on
the Waterford campus tomorrow, starting at 9am.

We wish our
teams the best of luck.

Reminder: Important
dates:

●Saturday 9th June – Regional Entrance
Testing in Maputo

●Wednesday 13th – Sunday 17th
June – UWC Africa Week

●Friday 29th June – Tuesday 3rd
July – Mid-Term Break

●Kamhlaba Day – Saturday 14th July

●Wednesday 25th July – Careers Fair

●Saturday 14th July - Kamhlaba Day

●Friday 10th August – School Closes,
buses departs for Johannesburg

Any Questions?

If you have
any questions and feedback, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line at principal@waterford.szIf the question is of broad interest I will publish the question (with
the permission of the writer and without the name) and my reply in the
newsletter.